A total of 30 defibrillators were purchased by the firm for its buildings in its management portfolio. In the Westchester-Fairfield County area, some of the properties include: the EastRidge portfolio in White Plains and Harrison, NY; Greenwich Plaza in Greenwich, CT; Stamford Square, Stamford Harbor Park, 707 Summer St. and 1010 Washington Blvd. in Stamford, CT.

"The availability of Automatic External Defibrillators to the public and the development of PAD programs is relatively new. When we realized that we could help prevent a potential tragedy in the workplace, the decision to implement this program throughout our portfolio was an easy one," explains Robert W. Hartt, executive vice president of The Ashforth Company's Management Services division.

According to Kim Depra of Ashforth, the program was not launched because of any health care emergency that took place at one of the firm's buildings, rather due to the company's ongoing dialogue with the American Heart Association. She says that Ashforth believes that it is the first commercial real estate management firm to initiate a portfolio-wide defibrillation program.

The AEDs, which are manufactured by Irvine, CA-based Cardiac Science Inc., are maintained in wall-mounted cabinets, which are connected to a central station security monitoring system. When the cabinet is opened, a 9-1-1 call will be automatically dispatched to local emergency services.

Security personnel and Ashforth staff have been trained to respond to a cardiac emergency and to use the AED equipment, and administer CPR until emergency medical service professionals arrive at the scene, Ashforth officials said.The Ashforth Company, headquartered in Stamford, is a 107-year-old commercial investment firm and operator. Ashforth and its affiliates provide asset and property management, general contracting and construction management services. The company has ownership interest in 4.5 million sf of commercial office space and manages nine million sf on the East and West coasts.

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Ashforth Launches Portfolio-Wide Defibrillation Program

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